Many college classes in Nghe An finished a long time ago but were not able to take graduation exams.
(Baonghean.vn)- Although they have finished their studies for a long time, more than 60 students from two colleges in Nghe An province have not yet been able to take their graduation exams to receive their diplomas and apply for jobs.
Parents are upset
For many months now, Mr. Bui Gia Ly (56 years old), in Ky Tan commune, Tan Ky district, has had to regularly travel more than 100 km to the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College (located in Vinh city) to ask about his son's graduation exam time. However, Mr. Ly has never received a satisfactory answer from the school. Bui Anh Tu - Mr. Ly's son, is a student at the school, has finished his program and returned home for nearly a year now, but has not been able to take the graduation exam.
“I spent hundreds of millions of dong for my children to go to college for several years, hoping to get a diploma so they could apply for a job, but I waited forever and never saw one. Meanwhile, the school previously promised that after they finished school, they would be awarded two diplomas by April 2023,” Mr. Ly said indignantly.
Mr. Ly said that in 2019, his son was admitted to the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College, studying Mechanical Maintenance. On the opening day, he attended and also represented the parents to speak. At that time, the school leaders said that this was a joint class with Germany. Along with the vocational training period, the students will learn German for free, after graduation they will be awarded 2 degrees, which are a vocational college degree issued by Germany and a vocational college degree issued by the school. In addition, they will receive a B1 German proficiency certificate and will open up opportunities for those who want to work abroad.
“We were very excited when the school said that. During the 4 years of study, in many meetings with parents, the school kept repeating those commitments. According to the school's schedule, in April 2023, the students will take the graduation exam, but until now, it's the end of 2023 but the students still don't have any diplomas to use when applying for jobs," Mr. Ly added. And after a long wait, these students only received a certificate of having completed the program...
Many other parents whose children are studying in these classes also expressed their frustration that the school has not yet organized a graduation exam to award diplomas. “Despite the difficult family situation, over the past 4 years, the family has still borrowed and spent hundreds of millions of dong to send their children to the city to study. They thought that after graduating, they would get a diploma and go abroad to work, but now that they have finished studying and returned to their hometown, they have been waiting for almost a year and still have not seen any results. Can this be called a scam?”, a parent in Quynh Luu district asked.
According to the reporter's investigation, not only at the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College, but also 32 students at Nghe An College of Tourism and Commerce are in the same situation. Specifically, at the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College, there are 2 classes: Mechanical Maintenance and Automotive Technology, while at Nghe An College of Tourism and Commerce, there are 2 classes: Reception Management and Culinary Arts; these classes all started in 2019, each class has 16 students, of which, 2 classes at Nghe An College of Tourism and Commerce have finished studying since October 2022, but have been waiting for more than a year and still have not been able to take the graduation exam.
Whose responsibility is it?
Mr. Ho Van Dam - Principal of Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College said that these are classes in the pilot training program for college level for 22 key international occupations of the General Department of Vocational Education, under the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs. "In 2019, we and many other vocational colleges signed a contract with the General Department of Vocational Education to take responsibility for training. When participating in this pilot training, schools will receive teacher training, receive program sets, and invest in training facilities according to German standards. Students who meet the graduation requirements will be granted 2 degrees according to German and Vietnamese regulations, meeting the demand for high-quality labor in the context of international integration and can work in Germany," said Mr. Dam.
According to the signed contract, the training period is 3.5 years. To train 32 students in 2 classes, the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College has been committed by the General Department of Vocational Education to pay nearly 6.4 billion VND. Equivalent to about 200 million VND for each student. All are from the State budget. These expenses include learning and teaching materials; salaries, salary allowances and deductions from teachers' salaries; costs of materials for studying and graduation exams; costs of foreign language training; electricity and water costs; costs of minor repairs to assets and equipment; costs of classroom management and scholarships for students...
However, according to Mr. Ho Van Dam, during the study process, students still have to pay about 10 million VND per year in tuition to receive a college degree from the school.
“In the past time, we have done a very good job of training according to the signed contract. The training process was closely supervised by German experts. We also organized mock exams, and the students' results were very good. However, when they finished studying, the General Department of Vocational Education requested a temporary suspension and did not allow them to take the graduation exam. This is not the school's fault, because we are only responsible for training,” said Principal Ho Van Dam, adding that currently, the school still has to pay most of the training costs in advance, and the General Department of Vocational Education has only paid the school a very small amount compared to the contract.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang - Principal of Nghe An College of Tourism and Commerce also said that this is not the school's fault. "We understand the parents' feelings but also hope they sympathize with the school. According to the roadmap, in October 2022, all 32 students of these two classes will be able to take the graduation exam to receive a degree, but the General Department of Vocational Education requested a temporary suspension. Because we cannot wait any longer, we are currently transferring students in need to other classes to continue studying, helping them get another degree," said Mr. Giang.
In the document sent to colleges, the General Department of Vocational Education did not specify the reason for suspending the training program, but only said, "During the process of organizing the pilot training of 22 occupations transferred from Germany, some difficulties and unavoidable problems arose that were beyond the control of the General Department of Vocational Education and are waiting for the competent authority to resolve and handle...".
In April 2023, colleges, including the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical College, sent a document requesting the General Department of Vocational Education not to suspend training activities. In particular, it is necessary to organize graduation exams for students awarded German and Vietnamese degrees so that students are qualified to participate in the job market, complete the project's objectives as well as the contents of the contract signed by both parties. However, to date, these requests have not been approved.